Melissa Etheridge

"The songs are inspired by my experiences. Sometimes they are more than my real life, and, conversely, my life is more than just my songs." -Melissa Etheridge

From earlier rockers "Bring Me Some Water" and "I'm The Only One" to the more recent "Angels Will Fall," Melissa's been knocking out hits since 1988. Besides her accomplishments in the music industry, she'll be remembered as the first openly gay female rocker in history. A particular Rolling Stone magazine cover photo in 2000 created quite a stir as well.

SEX APPEAL

Many folks wouldn't use "sexy" and "Melissa Etheridge" in the same sentence. Our panel was no exception, although one member considered the way that she lunged upon a stage to get lip-locked with Elvira (and hence announcing her sexuality) to be kind of sexy.

SUCCESS

Melissa has obviously succeeded in accomplishing what she set out to do. She has received awards and recognition from the recording industry as well as other prestigious organizations. She's been nominated for countless Grammys, and took the award home twice. In 1990, she picked up the Juno Award (Canada's Grammy equivalent) for Best International Artist.

No one who caught her MTV Unplugged session from 1995 could forget her duet with Bruce Springsteen, performing his classic "Thunder Road." The accolades continued in 1996, when she won the ASCAP Award for Songwriter of the Year.

Melissa has been active in several humanitarian causes, and in 1998, she and former partner Julie Cypher received the National Family Civil Rights Award, the first of its kind.

In 2000, she performed at the opening of the Democratic National Convention. Not bad for a little ol' girl from Leavenworth, Kansas.

Melissa Etheridge Biography

Born in Leavenworth, Kansas on the 29th of May 1961, Melissa Lou Etheridge started playing the guitar when she was eight, and was writing her first songs by the age of ten.

She played in a succession of bands through her teens, and was a veteran stage performer by the time she entered the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1979. She dropped out after only one year, but remained in Boston to further develop her songwriting and live performing chops in area bars and clubs.

island in the sun

On her 21st birthday, Melissa moved to Los Angeles, and over the next four years, established herself on the California bar circuit. In 1986, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell heard her performing in a Long Beach bar, and enthusiastically signed her to his label.

Blackwell initially rejected the tapes she made for her debut recording, feeling the studio versions of her material were slick overproductions of the gritty, heartfelt tunes he had heard her perform in a stripped-down live setting. Fortunately, he agreed to let her re-record the material.

Re-cut live in the studio, with just Melissa and her three-piece band backing her, these sessions came closer to capturing the intensity of her live performances. Her eponymous debut was released in 1988, and eventually went on to sell over two million copies.

heavy success

Brave and Crazy, her 1989 sophomore album, went platinum, garnering her three Grammy Award nominations, and a Canadian Juno Award for Best International Artist. Her third release, 1992's Never Enough, also achieved platinum status, and contained "Ain't It Heavy," which earned her the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Around this time, Melissa became increasingly outspoken on social and political issues. She openly supported Bill Clinton during his campaign for President in 1992. It was at a celebration for Clinton's inauguration that Melissa confirmed rumors about her sexual orientation, by jumping on stage to kiss cult horror-scene Queen, Elvira.

Although she risked alienating part of her continuously growing fan base by admitting she was a lesbian, the opposite occurred. With the release of Yes I Am in late 1993, she graduated from the mid-sized club circuit to full-blown stadium rock superstardom. The album sold over six million copies, and the single "Come To My Window" (whose video starred Juliette Lewis) won her a second Grammy at the 1995 Awards ceremony.

revealing her big secret

Later that year she released her fifth album. Your Little Secret became her first top ten L.P., entering the Billboard charts at #6. All the while she continued to champion various causes, including human and animal rights, and women's and gay related issues.

After over a decade of continuous gigging and recording, Melissa took some well deserved time off to focus on what else, but starting a family. She and partner Julie Cypher, an independent filmmaker whom she met on the set of her first video shoot in 1988, had a daughter, Bailey Jean, in 1997, and a son, named Beckett, the following year.

the crosby show

Rumors as to the father's identity were put to rest in 1999, when it was revealed that fellow musician David Crosby donated the missing ingredient to the mix (there was speculation that perhaps the father was Brad Pitt, Melissa's pal). The big happy superfamily, consisting of Melissa, Julie, David, his wife and the two children, appeared together on the cover of Rolling Stone in February 2000.

Melissa was slated to star as Janis Joplin in the biopic Piece Of My Heart, with Julie on board as co-producer and script co-writer. The project dragged along in pre-production for a couple of years until Melissa bowed out, stating she needed to get back to making music.

In late 1999, Melissa reemerged after a four-year absence from the charts. Breakdown displayed a softer side of Melissa musically, though it continued in the tradition of the honest, self-examining lyrics she had come to be known for. And she got a chance to work behind the camera for the first time, when she directed the video for "Angels Would Fall."

In September 2000, Melissa and Julie split up. The separation was amicable, as the two are next-door neighbors, and share custody of their kids. Since then, Melissa has been seen in the company of actress Tammy Lynn Michaels.

show us some skin

During the summer of 2001, Melissa witnessed two of her releases debut at #9 on the bestsellers lists. Her seventh album, Skin, entered the Billboard Top 200 in July, while her autobiography entitled, The Truth Is... My Life In Love And Music, appeared on the New York Times Bestsellers List.

The truth is... Melissa Etheridge has touched millions of fans from all walks of life by opening up and baring her soul in an industry ruled more by style and image than integrity and intelligence.